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It is with extreme skepticism toward modern art that I read a review on biological art, or "bioart," in the journal Trends in Biotechnology. The authors' goal was to discuss the history and relevance of this artistic sub-discipline to contemporary society. For me, this bioart ranges from awe-inspiring to mind-numbing stupidity.

In the two months since the CDC announced that Zika virus causes microcephaly, researchers have been working tirelessly to learn how it does. A recent study brings us one step closer by showing that the Zika virus can bind to, and replicate in, cells of human placentae. This type of insight will help design a drug that could block Zika from getting to the developing fetus.

It's common practice for your pharmacy to substitute a generic version of a drug for its brand counterpart. But another cost-saving policy is being considered: substituting an entirely different drug from the same class as what was prescribed. This is a terrible idea, as Dr. Robert Popovian explains.

Sugar consumption — especially in beverages — is blamed for many ailments such as obesity and Type 2 diabetes. Now we can add gallbladder cancer to the supposed list of links. But the study finding such a link was observational — no causal connection can be assumed.

Muhammad Ali has been lauded for his oratorical skill, his activism and certainly his boxing. Yet for decades it's been believed that even one of the greatest boxers could not beat back the head trauma that led to the Parkinson's disease he suffered from since the 1980s. Yet was it really boxing that caused it? We are inching closer to learning the truth, but some questions remain.

Palliative care services are misunderstood by clinicians and patients alike. However, research has shown that early discussions and referral palliative care soon after diagnosis yield significantly better results with respect to expectations, quality of life, less aggressive interventions and even survival.

With the Olympics quickly approaching, some people planning to attend are starting to feel that the possibility of getting Zika virus is not worth the risk. The latest is the "Today" show's Savannah Guthrie, who is pregnant. But a new study says the risk of infection is very small, stating that just 16 new cases of Zika will emerge.

While obesity prevalence for adult men didn't change much between 2005 and 2014, for women it increased significantly. This is true especially in Black and Hispanic women — groups that must be targeted for greater prevention efforts.

Shell Canada has contributed 860,000 hectares of offshore rights in the waters of Baffin Bay to the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

In what is just one more example of fear-based marketing, a company is selling "natural chemical" bracelets that supposedly protect kids from mosquitoes. Not only is this not going to work, but the natural chemical is just as toxic as DEET — the insect repellant that the company takes great pains to note, is absent. If this was on "Jeopardy" we'd call out this firm accordingly.

Last week, we sat down with some of our scientists to discuss terms that they wish the general public would stop using when discussing science — and none of them held back. Caution: Comedy ahead.

When it comes to helping people quit smoking, there is no such thing as an aggressive method. It's time for the United States to use pictorial warning labels, even if they are disturbing, to aid smokers to kick an awful and deadly habit.

Copper, that darling of gourmet chefs, is great for cookware but not so effective for arthritis sufferers. But eventually it may actually help promote fat breakdown in the body — if, that is, the results of a new study can be replicated.

Psychological research on morality shows that we hold an overly optimistic view of our capacity to adhere to ethical standards. We believe that we are intrinsically more moral than others, that we will behave more ethically than others in the future and that transgressions committed by others are morally worse than our own. But that's not necessarily the case.

The neurotransmitter dopamine -- which is most famously associated with the "reward system" in the brain -- is also linked to eye blink rate and time perception, both of which are in constant flux. Immediately after a blink, time is perceived to go by a little more slowly.

A recent paper published in the journal Pediatrics reveals how musician celebrities often endorse foods and beverages which are of poor nutritional quality, which only adds to the burden of the childhood obesity crisis.

Prostate cancer can be indolent, not posing a risk to life — or aggressive, leading to an increased risk of death. A new analysis from the large EPIC study suggests that increases in BMI and waist circumference are associated with an increased risk of the aggressive form, and thus to an increased mortality risk.

For political websites, no conspiracy theory is too outrageous - including claims that I might be a shill for a corporation.

A growing number of parents are refusing to vaccinate their children, and one reason often given is that they don't trust that doctors and government agencies sufficiently research the potential harms of vaccines. Given that, we wanted to find out whether telling people about the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, which is monitored by the CDC and the FDA, and the information it gathers could influence their belief about vaccine safety.

No, not by us, we are instead separating real health threats from manufactured health scares.

Perhaps the worst laboratory accident in recent memory occurred in 1996, when Karen Wetterhahn, a chemistry professor at Dartmouth, spilled a couple of drops of dimethylmercury on her glove. Thinking nothing of it, she simply changed gloves. Ten months later she died from mercury poisoning.

All cancer is heartbreaking, but pediatric cancers are my emotional soft spot. A friend's 10-month-old baby just got diagnosed with leukemia. As a result I decided to register myself as a potential bone marrow donor. It's quick and easy. Here's what's involved.

Strong, young, healthy, athletic -- all the attributes that seemingly would protect someone from the small risks inherent in any leisure activity. And yet, sad, terrible events still take place that claim lives of such people when simple precautions and common sense are overlooked or ignored. Take the drowning of 19-year-old college pitcher Donny Everett as a tragic example.

While we often pooh-pooh the claims of marketers for the efficacy of dietary supplements, we're not blind to the possibilities. One supplement that has been studied in transgenic growth hormone (or TGM) mice may hold promise for treating or staving off neuro-degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's. More work is needed, of course.

Stemming from the American Society of Clinical Oncology gathering in Chicago, it will be difficult not to give into the optimism that is cancer research these days. In conjunction with significant investment from the White House and beyond, the frontier of cancer treatment has never looked so promising.